Moving house is nothing short of complicated and stressful. Even if you’re choosing to have a moving company handle the bulk of the job, it’s still difficult undergoing the journey to your new home – especially if the entire family is in tow.
And an often overlooked and undervalued part of the moving process is the refueling of the family along the journey. But with some minimal planning and discussions beforehand, you can avoid hastily finding the nearest restaurant on a rural interstate and make fun, transit-friendly moving meals the whole family will enjoy.
Take the Path of Least Resistance
As with anything, the more people you have involved in a task, the more complex. So, if you’re moving a lengthy distance with a car full of family members, planning your transit-friendly meals should start with a few questions for your fellow passengers.
Here are some questions you can ask to help you determine the meals everyone would like to eat best:
- What type of food sounds the most delicious for our trip?
- What food do you absolutely not want to eat?
- If you could pick anything to eat on this trip, what would it be?
You can use this as an opportunity to engage your fellow road trippers in a pretty important component of the move. If your family members want roadside fast food, you can slot in times for a burger and fry break between planned and prepacked meals. Also, if a family member would prefer to eat a certain thing more than another, you can customize meals ahead of time.
Involving everyone in the process will make the chore of feeding the crew a bit easier on everyone. Instead of fighting over who wants what, you can take the path of least resistance and avoid one potential avenue for arguments along the journey.
Try to Keep it Fun and Seasonal
You and your household members are going to uproot the majority of your daily lives and transport all your belongings to a new place. And the journey between those two endpoints will be filled with bleary eyes, sips of coffee, and plenty of, “Hey have you seen where I put that thing?”
These meals will serve as a bit of a break in all the chaos. So, it’s your chance to make them fun and extra delicious. Shop with seasonality in mind and grab whatever fruit or veg is freshest. It’ll last longer in a cooler and no one can deny a seasonal strawberry tastes infinitely better than one out of season.
You can also craft snacks and handheld food items that are fun and creative. From making sandwiches look like animals to utilizing fun prints on napkins, you can bring smiles to faces just with a bit of preparation.
Avoiding Mess is Best
Nothing is worse than a DEFCON 1-type situation in the backseat of a car on a deserted interstate involving hot soup and fabric seats. So, the key to making meals transit-friendly is making sure they can be held in hand and aren’t all that spillable.
Avoid liquid meals and stainable messes. And if you’re travelling with young ones, make sure you pack a picnic blanket for mealtimes to cover anything you want to keep stain free.
Five Recipes We Recommend for Transit-Friendly Moving Meals
Want some inspiration for meals you can pack for on-the-go, family-friendly fun? We’ve grabbed five recipes that are sure to be winners. Be warned, though, the pictures are mouth watering.
Sandwich: Chicken Salad
This seasoned chicken salad sandwich couresty of Betty Crocker is sure to be a hit. It's less fragrant than tuna salad sandwiches and just as filling. Pair this with some seasonal fruits and you've got a knockout, easy-to-prepare lunch.
Burrito: Any Toppings You Want
Burritos are a great way to compromise with a number of different requests. Whether it be discrepencies on toppings or allergies to certain ingredients, packing a variety of premade burritos can definitely make your job of feeding the herd simpler. Check out Delish's 52 homemade burrito recipes for some inspiration.
Sandwich: Peanut Butter, Banana, and Honey
Another great sandwich on this list features sweet, filling, carb-heavy bananas on toasted bread. The recipe is by Closet Cooking, and can be tailored to your liking. You can customize this sandwich as well by switching out the fruits or adding oats for some more nutritous carbs. Combine this with some veggies or a filling salad.
Snack: A Filling Trail Mix
Never underestimate the delicious power of a little nuts, salt, dried fruit, and chocolate. This snack really nails the mess-free necesity of eating on the road, and can also be modified for anyone with differing taste. Check out this recipe on how to build a healthy trail mix from Healthy Maven.
Kid-Centric and Fun: Caterpillar Kabobs and Ants on a Log
Long drives and stressful moves are a great opportunity to incorporate fun elements for the kids along for the ride. Easy-to-assemble and brightly coloured, caterpillar kabobs and ants on a log are sure to get a few smiles from the backseat. On My Kids Plate has a simple recipe for visually engaging caterpillar kabobs constructed from fruit with an optional yogurt dip to pair.
